Farmer Jaffe Weissing Assists Amputee Seeking Justice in Plane Propeller Accident

Aug. 17, 2012 - PRLog -- Contact
Seth Lehrman, Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards, Fistos & Lehrman, P.L.
(954) 524-2820
Kim Sailer, BARD Marketing/PR
ksailer@bardmarketing.com

Farmer Jaffe Weissing Assists Amputee Seeking Justice in Plane Propeller Accident

Fort Lauderdale, FL – The trial attorneys and staff of Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards, Fistos & Lehrman, P.L. assisted an amputee seeking justice and held an insurance company accountable for acting in bad faith.

In April 2001 Marvin Evans was a guest at a reception being held at the North Perry Airport in Hollywood, FL.  A friend of a friend had a private plane at the airport, and Evans was asked if he would like to go for a ride. Since he had never flown on a private plane, Evans accepted the invitation. Unfortunately, due to minimal lighting and lack of supervision, Evans was allowed to walk onto the tarmac and near the plane, where he was struck by an operational propeller, violently amputating his arm.

Florida Suncoast Aviation operated the fixed-base operator (FBO) at which the private plane was located at the time of the injury, and Cresair, Inc. was the real estate manager of the property. Greenwich Insurance Co. issued a policy of insurance covering both entities. However, Greenwich provided coverage and a defense for Florida Suncoast but failed and refused to acknowledge coverage or provide a defense for Cresair, leaving it without an attorney to represent it at trial. After a trial on liability and damages in January 2006, the jury returned a verdict of $125 million for Mr. Evans and a judgment against Cresair was entered accordingly.

In September 2011, five years after the judgment had been entered, Greenwich belatedly moved to intervene in the case and sought to set aside the judgment, claiming it had not received proper notice of the trial. The evidence, however, showed that Greenwich and its attorney had actual knowledge of the claim and of the trial, and the court therefore denied the motion to set aside the verdict. Greenwich appealed that decision, and the coverage case against Greenwich was set for trial. On the eve of trial, Greenwich agreed to settle the case with Evans for a confidential settlement amount.

Marvin Evans would gladly return all damages awarded to him to the insurance company if he could only go back in time to that fateful day and get his arm back. Of course, that is not possible, and his recourse was to seek compensation for the dramatic and tragic change to his body and life. The parties responsible for Mr. Evans’s damages had the foresight to obtain insurance coverage to account for the possibility that an injury could occur on their premises. Too often, however, insurance companies disregard their contractual obligations and leave prudent businesses exposed to potentially devastating judgments, as Greenwich did here. The attorneys and staff at Farmer, Jaffe are proud to have been able to assist Mr. Evans in his pursuit of justice and fair compensation, and to hold Greenwich Insurance Co. to its obligations.

Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards & Lehrman, P.L., a Fort Lauderdale Litigation firm, focuses on Consumer Class Actions, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Mass Tort, and Whistleblower Suit (qui tam). The firm is headquartered at 425 N. Andrews Avenue, Suite 2 and may be reached at (800) 400-1098 or (954) 524-2820. Additional information about Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards, Fistos & Lehrman, P.L. may be obtained from the firm’s website at http://www.pathtojustice.com. We invite you to network with us on LinkedIn, Tweet with us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/farmerjaffe), connect with us on Google+ or follow us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/FarmerJaffeWeissing ).